Local News

Police Investigating Homicide At Stockton Mini-Mall

May 1, 2019 / 6:13 PM PDT / CBS Sacramento

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STOCKTON (CBS13) — Stockton police are investigating a deadly shooting at a mini-mall that had people in nearby businesses scrambling to take cover. The deadly shots were fired at the Holiday Plaza Shopping Center on March Lane Wednesday.

At night crime scene investigators could be seen taking photo evidence of the shooting scene outside a tire business in the strip mall, where a series of gunshots interrupted what had been a bustling day of business.

As a victim was rushed to County Hospital, police descended on the scene just after 5:30 p.m., setting up a perimeter and laying out dozens of evidence markers near shell casings littered across the area.

Trinity Diaz works at Fiesta Auto Insurance in the same mini-mall.

"We just heard 10 or 15 gunshots," Diaz said.

She was inside her insurance office when she heard the blasts.

"So we just locked the doors and it was terrifying," Diaz said.

Her office backs up to the shooting scene.

"I was just scared that someone would come down here because we heard it like, right behind us," Diaz said.

At the Thrifty Wash laundromat next door, surveillance video shows customers inside startled by the gunshots, going to the windows trying to see what happened. Susan Guillory was inside.

"That was very scary," Guillory said. "Stuff like this makes people not want to come here and little malls like this it's hard for them to make it."

This is the second shooting at this retail center in weeks. On April 20th a victim was shot at a recycling business, next door to Wednesday's shooting scene.

"It's starting to get more and more common, it's starting to get scarier," Diaz said.

A Stockton shopping center turned violent crime scene, twice in two weeks. Leaving police with a search for suspects, putting customers and employees on edge.

Stockton police have not released the victim's identity and they say they have no releasable suspect description or motive in Wednesday's shooting.

The Stockton Police Department is encouraging people to call if they have information pertaining to this investigation. Callers are asked to call the Stockton Police Department at (209) 937-8377, the Investigation Unit at (209) 937-8323, or Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600. Callers can remain anonymous.